The carving of the Bride Price Ceremony of Langa Langa, come from Malaita Province. The virgin lady is meeting her husband, and dressed all in shell money ornaments. This demonstrates that she knows how to make shell money to help her husband and his tribe in shell money making. Shell money traditionally has been used for many custom ceremonies, compensation payments, land settlements, peacemaking and forming alliances. The shell money hood she is wearing implicates that she has been working only with her mother since her childhood time in shell money making activities.
The bride is also holding a coconut fruit with a leaf, symbolising that she is virgin, and holding a seed for nobody but her husband to take from her hand, and plant the coconut tree that will bear many fruits in future, as she will bear many children for her husband and his tribe to grow in numbers.
The bride price payment is traditionally considered as actually paying the the life of the woman to eb fully supported by all means to her husband's tribe until the day of her death.
Custom Wedding Decorations
After the bride price ceremony is performed, the bruce is then decorated and escorted t her bridegroom's house-hold.
On her head, is the "Kwao" or the crown which symbolises the dignity of a woman. in her hands she holds a coconut (grown coconut) with shoots. The coconut symbolises fertility. this means tat she is now at the childbearing age and then she joins the family of her bride groom, she will bear children for that family and the tribe.
When she enters the house of the bride groom she is made to star on a white-woven (native umbrella) mat. This white umbrella mat "Fau" symbolises chastity and purity. This means that the bride is coming to her bride groom as an unblemished and pure virgin.
